15.08.

1971: Bahrain – A State where Half the Ministers are the King’s Relatives

Photo Credit To Wikipedia Commons

Story Highlights

Historical event:

15 August 1971

The prime minister is the king’s uncle, while the ministers of interior, defense, finance, justice, culture, and traffic are all members of the ruling Al-Khalifa family.

The Arab state of Bahrain, situated in the Persian Gulf, achieved its independence on this day in 1971.

Bahrain is a wealthy country, but covers only a small area – only 765.3 square kilometers. The greater part of the country is located on the island of Bahrain, which has only around 572 square kilometers. The state also encompasses a large number of smaller islands.

A large part of Bahrain’s wealth is based on oil, but finance and banking also play a large part (Lebanon used to the the “Switzerland” of the Middle East, but the war in that country caused a good part of these businesses to relocate to Bahrain).

Bahrain is also famous for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which was held there in 2004, the first of its kind in the entire Middle East.

A characteristic of the Bahrain government is the large involvement of the ruling Al-Khalifa dynasty. Namely, the King of Bahrain is a member of that dynasty, as are around half of all the country’s minister.

Indeed, the prime minister is the king’s uncle, while the ministers of interior, defense, finance, justice, culture, and traffic are all members of the ruling Al-Khalifa family.